Atlanta

9

Toronto

5

M. Estrada

Estrada was in cruise control, and the Jays were finally beginning to find a rhythm; this was all before the Atlanta Braves strolled into town. Estrada frankly did not have his grade-A changeup today, forcing him into a reliance on his lethargic fastball in hitters counts. The line on Estrada is an unimpressive one; surrendering 8 hits and 5 earned runs in his time on the bump. I however decided the longevity of his performance warranted at least a C grade, going 6 unspectacular innings. Unfortunately, my writers curse for starting pitchers claimed yet another victim, despite how comfortable Estrada looked in his previous few starts.

The Hitting

C+

Player

H-AB

R

RBI

BB

SO

2B-3B-HR

SB

AVG

OBP

Slug

K. Pillar

2-5

2

1

0

1

1-0-1

0

.313

.365

.509

J. Bautista

0-3

0

0

1

1

0-0-0

0

.193

.320

.338

K. Morales

1-4

0

0

0

1

0-0-0

0

.238

.288

.427

D. Ceciliani

0-0

0

0

0

0

0-0-0

0

.000

.000

.000

J. Smoak

0-1

2

0

3

0

0-0-0

0

.281

.345

.531

D. Travis

2-4

1

2

0

1

2-0-0

1

.205

.239

.339

D. Barney

1-3

0

1

1

0

0-0-0

1

.289

.322

.373

E. Carrera

0-4

0

1

0

1

0-0-0

0

.302

.327

.425

R. Goins

0-4

0

0

0

0

0-0-0

0

.208

.267

.333

L. Maile

0-2

0

0

0

0

0-0-0

0

.030

.111

.030

C. Coghlan

0-1

0

0

0

1

0-0-0

0

.180

.263

.260

M. Ohlman

1-1

0

0

0

0

0-0-0

0

.250

.250

.250

The Blue Birds came through with 7 hits in the losing effort, including four extra-base hits. Pillar’s 2-5 with a double and a home run improve his sky-high average to .313. Devon Travis was the other Jay to record an extra-base hit, continuing his hot streak with two doubles. Justin Smoak looked comfortable at the dish yet again recording three walks, despite going hitless. And that’s where the bright spots end. Toronto was stifled by Braves starter Jamie Garcia early on, not able to record a hit for the first 3 innings, and working themselves into an early hole on yet another occasion. The Jays remain desperate to find consistency in their lineup from players not named Pillar, Smoak, and Travis. The good news? Donaldson and Tulowitzki are just about ready to make their return to the lineup card.

The Bullpen

D

Player

IP

R

ER

H

BB

SO

PC (B-S)

ERA

D. Barnes (L, 0-1)

0.2

1

1

1

0

1

11 (2-9)

1.93

R. Tepera (3-1)

1.1

0

0

2

0

1

27 (11-16)

3.33

J. Smith (0-0)

0.2

2

2

2

1

0

6 (1-5)

2.89

R. Osuna (2-0)

0.1

1

1

2

0

0

10 (2-8)

3.52

It was a forgettable night for the pen. Danny Barnes was tagged for long home run to straight away centre on only his second pitch, serving as the game winning run. Ryan Tepara was the lone reliever for Toronto to last an entire inning without worsening the damage for the Jays, though he gave up back-to-back hits in his brief showing. With the game still in the balance in the 9th, the Jays trotted out two of their more trusted relievers; the result was fallacious. Smith and Osuna were pegged for a combined 4 hits and 3 runs, dispelling any real chance of a rally-from-behind comeback.

The Manager

A

John Gibbons

John Gibbons made all the right calls in today’s game. His bullpen management was well thought out, though the results fell flat. His decision to instruct a red-hot Devon Travis to sacrifice bunt with two on, no one out in the 8th inning and a one-run deficit, was absolutely the correct call. Travis, much like Toronto’s bullpen, was unable to execute, letting their skipper down.

Notable Hitters

A+

K. Pillar

Stay hot Kevin! No seriously, with so many prominent bats still out of the lineup, you are all we have to be optimistic about. The Jays look to have found their first true lead off hitter since the departure of Ben Revere. If Superman can keep up this rampant pace (.313 avg, 6 HR), he is very likely to represent Toronto at this year’s all-star game in Miami.

Extra Innings

1

Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp have absolutely torched Toronto through the first two games in this home-and-home, four-game set. Running into scolding hot, talented hitters is a reality that every team must face on multiple occasions through a 162 game sked, but the depleted Jays rotation has especially struggled in containing hot bats. A healing rotation serves as a reason for optimism with this 17-23 squad.